Multiple Choice
Identify the
choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
|
|
|
1.
|
Which of the following are likely topics in a biology course?
a. | Why does the Texas horned lizard squirt blood out of its eyes? | b. | How is a banded
pipefish able to hide in its environment of seaweeds? | c. | What chemicals cause plant stems to lengthen or
flowers to bloom? | d. | All of these. |
|
|
|
2.
|
Which of the following would most likely be the major focus of a
biologist?
a. | bacteria found in hot springs | b. | the composition of water in hot
springs | c. | the temperature of hot springs | d. | the location of hot
springs |
|
|
|
3.
|
Which describes a major benefit that bioengineering technology has provided to
society?
a. | Its applications include the development of new plastics for
airplanes. | b. | Its applications include the development of pacemakers and artificial
limbs. | c. | Its applications include larger capacity for handheld music
devices. | d. | Its applications include more energy-efficient fossil
fuels. |
|
|
|
4.
|
Which is not something a scientist would study?
a. | astrology | c. | biology | b. | botany | d. | anatomy |
|
|
|
5.
|
Which best describes the purpose of science?
a. | to explain the nature of things | b. | to propose solutions to political
issues | c. | to solve the ethical problems of society | d. | to debate the
meaning of life |
|
|
|
6.
|
In the peer-review process for a report of the results of a study on the ecology
of honeybees, who would be an appropriate reviewer?
a. | a politician that knew about bees | b. | a biologist studying
insects | c. | a university president | d. | a physicist that keeps
bees |
|
|
|
7.
|
Which of the following is an observation?
a. | You record the air temperature every day for a week. | b. | You propose that a
cold front is approaching. | c. | You hypothesize that the temperature will
increase tomorrow. | d. | You conclude that the season is
changing. |
|
|
|
8.
|
Tasha is testing the effect of blue-colored light on the growth of tomato
plants. Which is the independent variable in this experiment?
a. | light color | c. | amount of light | b. | light intensity | d. | temperature of
light |
|
|
|
9.
|
A researcher is interested in the effects of nitrate and phosphate on plant
growth and sets up an experiment in which groups of five plants are given 1, 2, and 3 grams of
nitrate and 1, 2, and 3 grams of phosphate in all combinations over a period of one month. The
researcher measures plant height and weight at the end of the experiment. What is missing in this
experimental design?
a. | a control | c. | a dependent variable | b. | an independent variable | d. | a constant |
|
|
|
10.
|
Which of the following information could be included in the description of a
grasshopper’s niche, but not in a description of its habitat?
a. | continent where it lives | c. | plant species it
eats | b. | locations where it shelters | d. | temperatures it experiences |
|
|
|
11.
|
Which of the following would be the easiest way to diagram predatory and
parasitic relationships between several species?
a. | biomass pyramid | c. | food web | b. | food chain | d. | numbers pyramid |
|
|
|
12.
|
Which process describes nitrogen fixation?
a. | animals eat plants containing nitrogen and return it to the soil through
urination | b. | bacteria take nitrogen from the air and convert it to a form usable by
plants | c. | organisms die and are decomposed into ammonia in the soil | d. | plants take nitrogen
from the air and store it in their roots |
|
|
|
13.
|
Which biogeochemical cycle is least dependent on biotic processes?
a. | carbon | c. | phosphorus | b. | nitrogen | d. | water |
|
|
|
14.
|
Some farmers use manure on their crop fields. How does this help the
plants?
a. | protects them from intense sunlight | b. | keeps insects from eating the
crops | c. | increases soil nitrogen and phosphorus levels | d. | increases soil
oxygen and carbon dioxide levels |
|
|
|
15.
|
What single feature is primarily responsible for the variation of climate in
different parts of the world?
a. | intensity of wind | b. | angle of incoming sunlight | c. | length of
daylight | d. | amount of precipitation |
|
|
|
16.
|
You are an ecologist collecting data about the declining growth rate of the
critically endangered Philippine eagle. The eagles’ only known population is estimated to have
about 350–650 individuals. Which of the following can you assume is zero?
a. | natality | c. | emigration | b. | mortality | d. | immigration |
|
|
|
17.
|
A population’s emigration in one month totaled three individuals. During
the same period, immigration was 17 individuals. Natality was 12, and mortality was 26 due to a
parasite infection. What was the net effect on the population size?
|
|
|
18.
|
Which of the following methods might be used to decrease the rate of approach to
carrying capacity by the developed world?
a. | increase birthrate | b. | decrease death rate | c. | decrease resource
use | d. | decrease emigration |
|
|
|
19.
|
A demographer is investigating various populations to find out how they use
resources. She wants to select the population that uses most resources per individual. Which
population should she choose for her study?
a. | the population of a industrially developed country | b. | the population of a
South American indigenous people | c. | the population of a developing country with a
high birthrate | d. | the population of an agricultural society with a low death
rate |
|
|
|
20.
|
A scientist at the polar ice cap was studying an ice sample from hundred of
meters below the surface. While examining the ice, the scientist found some cells from many years
ago. Using an electron microscope, the scientist identified these cell structures: a cytoskeleton,
mitochondrion, nucleus, cell wall, and ribosomes. What kind of organism did the scientist
find?
a. | animal | c. | plant | b. | bacteria | d. | He did not have enough
information. |
|
|
|
21.
|
What is a major difference between facilitated diffusion and active
transport?
a. | Active transport moves substances against the concentration
gradient. | b. | Active transport uses proteins in the process. | c. | Facilitated
diffusion moves molecules through the plasma membrane. | d. | Facilitated diffusion requires large amounts of
energy. |
|
|
|
22.
|
A plant cell is placed in a hypotonic solution. What will happen to the plant
cell?
a. | It will swell. | c. | It will stay the same. | b. | It will
shrink. | d. | It will
wilt. |
|
|
|
23.
|
An organism that uses hydrogen sulfide as a source of energy is categorized as
which of the following?
a. | photoautotroph | c. | heteroautotroph | b. | chemoautotroph | d. | thermoautotroph |
|
|
|
24.
|
What results from the removal of a phosphate group from ATP?
a. | the production of mechanical energy | b. | the release of energy | c. | the creation of
energy | d. | the absorption of energy by chlorophyll |
|
|
|
25.
|
In what organisms does alcoholic fermentation take place?
a. | yeast and some bacteria | c. | fruit flies | b. | viruses | d. | plants |
|
|
|
26.
|
Why is the synthesis stage called this?
a. | because protein synthesis is taking place | b. | because DNA
synthesis is taking place | c. | because it combines several smaller stages into
one | d. | because the chromosomes come together |
|
|
|
27.
|
It is often said that normal cells change into cancerous cells frequently in our
bodies. Which of the following explanations accounts for the relative rarity of cancer?
a. | The cancerous cells die on their own. | b. | The DNA repair system fixes the mutation that
causes cancer. | c. | The cancer cells grow only very slowly at first. | d. | The cancerous cells
are normally crowded out by normal cell growth. |
|
|
|
28.
|
What is the role of the spindle fibers?
a. | to join homologous chromosomes together | b. | to store nucleotides
prior to DNA synthesis | c. | to initiate the formation of the nuclear
membrane | d. | to move chromosomes in the cell |
|
|
|
29.
|
The typical human body cell contains 46 chromosomes. How many chromosomes are
found in a typical human sperm?
|
|
|
30.
|
Suppose an animal is heterozygous AaBb, and the traits are not linked.
When meiosis occurs, what is the total number of possible combinations of gametes that can be made
for these traits?
|
|
|
31.
|
Of the following species used in agriculture, which is most likely a
polyploid?
|
|
|
32.
|
If a female fruit fly heterozygous for red eyes (XRXr)
crossed with a white-eyed male (XrY), what percent of their offspring would have white
eyes?
|
|
|
33.
|
A phenotype that results from a dominant allele must have at least _____
dominant allele(s) present in the parent(s).
|
|
|
34.
|
A DNA segment is changed from -AATTAGAAATAG- to -ATTAGAAATAG-. This is a
____.
a. | frameshift mutation | b. | insertion | c. | inversion | d. | translation |
|
|
|
35.
|
Where would a DNA substitution probably have the smallest or least
effect on the organism?
a. | exon | c. | intron | b. | histone | d. | operon |
|
|
|
36.
|
Which of the following sequences of processes correctly reflects the central
dogma?
a. | protein synthesis, transcription, translation | b. | protein synthesis,
translation, transcription | c. | transcription, translation, protein
synthesis | d. | translation, transcription, protein synthesis |
|